Snap connection hinge



March 3, 1970 P. A. ZAMARRA 3,497,908

SNAP CONNECTION HINGE Filed Feb. 16, 1968 INVENTOR. Paw A. Zarzza'zzraATTORNEY United States Patent O" 3,497,908 SNAP CONNECTION HINGE Paul A.Zamarra, Lake Road, Far Hills, NJ. 07931 Filed Feb. 16, 1968, Ser. No.706,076 Int. Cl. Ed 1/06 US. Cl. 16-171 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Interfoliated members of a hinge are maintained in tight butnot stiff pivotal connection by spring bias resulting from the snapaction seating of a pivot element in a socket that is constituted, inpart, by a resilient detent which is displaced by the pivot element asit enters the socket and which thereafter remains under tension inpressure contact with a portion of the pivot element and holds it in thesocket.

BACKGROUND The present invention relates to the art of hingeconstruction, and in particular to hinges in which the component partsare assembled in service relation by a snap action connection effectedthrough forced engagement of interfoliated elements arranged to fulcrumon the pivot axis of the hinge. An example of the general type of hingewith which the present invention is concerned is illustrated in US.Patent 2,570,341.

In the general type of prior art hinge represented by said patent, thewing members are connected by engagement of pivot elements on one wingmember with sockets provided in resilient extensions of the other wingmember; the pivot elements being forced inwardly through the open outerends of one or more guide grooves in the socket-carrying extensions,entering between the extensions and forcing them apart against theirbias sufiiciently to allow passage of the pivot elements to abut theclosed inner ends of the grooves. The inner ends of the grooves formsockets in which the rounded pivot elements are seated with a snapaction resulting from their initial expansion, as described in thepatent, column 2, lines 36-50. When the pivot elements are fully seated,the expanding force on the socket-carrying extensions is removed, andalthough the respective wing members are connected in hinged relationthe connection is not tight and the grooves present passages throughwhich the rounded pivot elements may pass unimpeded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a hinge in whichthe wing members are pivotally connected by snap action engagement ofinterfoliated extensions of the wings, which extensions fulcrum on thepivot axis of the hinge. Certain of the extensions are resilient, andduring their interengagement with the other extensions are placed undertension which provides a spring bias that maintains a tight but notstiff connection between the wing members at all times. The bias isconstant; thereby providing automatic take-up action which compensatesfor wear.

The present invention further provides a hinge connection betweeninterfoliated parts, certain ones of which mount pivot elements thatseat in sockets in the others, in which the pivot elements pass to theirreceiving sockets through guide grooves having means operative by thepivot elements during their passage to place the socket-carryingextensions under a tension that imparts to them a spring bias forciblyholding the pivot elements seated in their sockets.

The present invention provides also a hinge connection betweeninterfoliated members in which a pivot element 3,497,908 Patented Mar.3, 1970 on one member is snap seated in a socket of an adjacent memberby means of a resilient detent that constitutes a part of the socket andwhich is displaced by the pivot element as it enters the socket.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the hinge wing members of the presentinvention assembled as a two-part container.

FIG. 2 is a hinge-side elevation of the assembled and closed containerof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating details of a pivotelement unit of the hinge.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating details of a socket unitof the hinge.

FIG. 7 is substantially a sectional view taken axially through aconnected hinge.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the hinge in process' of assemblyconnection.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, but showing the hinge assembly fullyconnected.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention a pair of hinge wing members 10 and 11, here shownas identical walls of a two-part container of molded plastic materialgenerally similar in shape to the container of the aforesaid Patent2,570,341, are pivotally connected by interfoliated extensions thatfulcrum on the pivot axis of the hinge. Two connections are provided,and because of the fact that the two sections of the container areidentical, being produced in the same mold, the component parts of eachhinge connection are reversed relative to the other. Because of thisrelationship, detailed description of one will serve for both.

Particular reference is made to the hinge connection at the right inFIG. 1. The wing member 10 is of molded plastic material and is formedwith a hinge unit comprising a pair of integral extensions 12 projectingfrom a side edge thereof and to the same extent. These extensions arerectangular in cross section and are sufficiently resilient to provide aspring bias resisting their mutual deflection toward or away from eachother under the application of force tending to press them together orapart. As shown best in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer side face of eachresilient extension 12 is recessed to provide a guide channel or groove13 closed at its inner end and open at its outer end. The groove issemicircular in cross section and is rounded at its closed inner endportion to present a semispherical socket 14.

The companion Wing member 11 is formed with a hinge unit comprising apair of integral extensions 15 projecting laterally from a side edgethereof in parallel relation and spaced apart a distance suflicient toreceive slidably between them the unit comprising the extensions 12 onthe wing member 10. The inner side faces of the extensions 15 are formedwith oppositely extending semispherical bosses constituting pivotelements 16 that seat in the sockets 14 when the hinge is connected.These bosses and the grooves 13 are complemental.

The pivot element extensions 15 are thicker in cross section than thesocket extensions 12 and therefore do not have the resiliency of thesocket extensions. They are not subject to deflection during connectionof the hinge.

An important feature of the present invention is the means :by whicheach pivot element is caused to snap seat in its receiving socket and isheld therein under pressure of a spring biased detent operated by thepivot element during entry in its socket.

This means comprises a detent 17, here shown as a rounded pimple or nub,located on the bottom of the groove in the path of travel of the socketelement as it enters the groove. The diameter of detent 17 at its baseis approximately one-third of the base diameter of the pivot element 16with which it is associated, and its height is approximately half theheight of the pivot element. Furthermore, the detent is located on thelongitudinal median of its groove in its open outer end as shown in FIG.3. The relative dimensions of each associated pivot element, socket, anddetent are such that, when the hinge is connected, the pivot elementswivels in its socket on the pivot axis of the hinge, and the detentconstitutes a minor but effective wall portion of the socket in rollingline contact with the rounded surface of the pivot element.

The hinge is connected by placing the rounded pivot elements 16 of oneunit in the open ends of the guide grooves 13 in the other unit incontact with their detents 17 and forcing the units together with thepivot elements riding inwardly over the detents to seat in the sockets14. The extensions 15 of the unit which carries the pivot elementsstraddle the extensions of the unit which carries the sockets, and asthe pivot elements ride in over the detents 17 the socket-carryingextensions are deflected laterally toward each other against the springbias resulting from their resiliency; thus placing the socketcarryingextensions under a tension which effects a snap action seating of thepivot elements when they enter their sockets. After the pivot elementsare seated the tension on the deflected socket-carrying extensions 12remains constant, but to a lesser extent. So long as the hinge isconnected, the pivot elements 16 are engaged against the detents with aconstant force tending to deflect the socket-carrying extensionslaterally in opposition to their bias, thus maintaining a tight but notstiff connection in which the existing spring bias provides automatictake up action.

The detents 17 function also as means operative to hold the pivotelements seated in their sockets. When the pivot elements are seated thedetents constitute obstructions barring passage of the pivot elementslongitudinally of the grooves, thus preventing fortuitous disconnectionof the hinge.

It is within the purview of this invention that, if desired, theextensions could he resilient and the .extensions 12 rigid eitherseparately or joined as one, and that the grooves and sockets could becarried by the extensions 15 with the pivot elements 16 located on theextensions 12.

I claim:

1. A snap connection hinge comprising, a pair of wing members eachhaving a unit pair of lateral extensions from a side edge thereof andarranged in parallel spaced relation, the unit pair of extensions on onewing member straddling the unit pair of extensions on the other wingmember when the hingle is connected, oppositely facing pivot elements onone unit pair of extensions,

' oppositely facing sockets for the pivot elements carried by the otherunit pair of extensions, each socket-carrying extension having therein aguide groove open at its outer end to receive a pivot element andleading to its socket, a detent in the open end of the guide groove anddeflectible by a pivot element'when passing through the guide groove toits stocket, one of said unit pairs of extensions being resilient,deflection of the detent acting to place the component extensions of theresilient pair under tension imparting oppositely acting spring biasesthereto, and each detent constituting an obstruction barring accidentalegress of a socket seated pivot element outwardly through its associatedgroove.

2. In the structure of claim 1, said pivot elements being roundedbosses, said sockets being complemental thereto, and said detents havingspring biased line contact pressure engagement with the pivot elementswhile they are seated in their associated sockets.

3. In the structure of-claim 1, said grooves opening at the same ends ofthe socket-carrying extensions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D.L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 220-31

